Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Cedar Creek now sporting Tighty Whities

The background of the Tighty Whities logo features the chemical structures for
humulones (alpha acids) and lupulones (beta acids) contained in hops (Cedar Creek Brewing Co.).

Fans of the television series Breaking Bad are probably familiar with the character Walter White and his propensity for wearing tighty whities during the show's five year run, but who would have thought such a thing might one day play a role in the naming of a beer?

While that's not the sole inspiration behind the newest seasonal from Cedar Creek, the beer now known as Tighty Whities is indeed an homage to the award-winning drama. The name is also a play on the style of beer that Tighty Whities represents, which in this case is a session white IPA.

The session part of the equation comes from the fact that the beer has an ABV of only 4%, with the white IPA part varying a bit from what consumers might expect. Where other interpretations of a white IPA have sought to bring together the elements of a Belgian witbier and a hoppy pale ale, Cedar Creek has taken a slightly different approach.

Pale wheat malt is used to give Tighty Whities a bready element, as well as its hazy "white" color, but the brewery chose to use something other than a witbier yeast to ferment the beer. That means you won't pick up any spice phenols due to the yeast in Cedar Creek's take on a white IPA, which leaves it to the hops to be the star of the show.

On that note, the brewery describes the beer as "a citrusy session white IPA," that offers "lots of hop flavor, without being too bitter. Calypso hops impart notes of lemon and pear, while experimental hop 06277 (a.k.a. Nuggetzilla) adds tropical flavors." It's said to be "perfect for a summer day," which suggests it's coming out at an appropriate time given the early arrival of warmer temperatures.

For now, Tighty Whities is only available at the brewery in Seven Points, but look for it to begin showing up at draft accounts around North Texas over the next couple of weeks.